Apparatus for treating air and the like.



A. E. DAVIDSON.

APPARATUS FOR TREATING AlR AND THE LIKE. APPLICATION FILED APR. 20;1914.

1 ,77,393. Patented Sept. 3, 1918.

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APPARATUS FOR TREATING AIR AND THE LAKE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 20. I914.

Pdtented Sept 3, 1918.

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ALFRED DAVIDSON, OF' NENARK, NEVJ JERSEY.

, APPARATUS FOR TREATING AIR AND THE LIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. a, rare.

- Application filed April 20, 1914. Serial No. 833,069.

and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Treating Air and thelike, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This'invention relates to an apparatus for treating air or the like, andhas particular reference to the treatment of the air in submarines orother inclosures so as tocounteract the vitiation of such air undernormal conditions of use, sothatthe air is maintained in a breathablecondition during long periods when it is not possible to renew thesupply of air.

The invention contemplates the forced passage of the air over and intointimate contact with a solution of sodium or potassium hydrate or otherchemical.whereby the carbon dioxid, chlorin, free sulfuric acid, andother unbreathab-le matter generated in the submarine or otherinclosurc, may be ab sorbed. The invention contemplates a wide range ofapplications aside fromsubmarines, as for instance, in the fermentingrooms of breweries, in cold storage plants,'ir. theaters, etc, but ithas a peculiar value in connection with submarines because in cases ofaccident, where the submarine is submerged for long periods of timebefore it can be raised again, and because the air in the submarinecannot be renewed under such circumstances, the vitiation of theatmosphere which inevitably takes place by the generation of. carbondioxid on thepart of the crew, the generation of chlorin from thedistintegration ofthe sea water in contact with the electrical apparatusand of free sulfuric acidgiven up the storage batteries, soon rendersthe atmosphere absolutely unbreathable and results in the suffocation ofthe crew. It is, of course, common practice to carry tanks of oxygen,but this in itself does not avail so long as the carbon dioxid andother. impurities are in the air in ever-increasingquantities. 'It hasbeen proposedto eliminate these impurities by absorption, but the reliefafforded by the methods and apparatus heretofore employed has not beensufficient, and an enforced submersion of more. than .a few hours, onaccount of accident, has uniformly resulted in loss of life.

By my invention I aim to make the air in a submarine breathable and toextend the time within which, after an accident,- the submarine mayberaised with the possibility of finding the crew still alive.

The method which I have inveutedwill be explained'in connection with thefollowing description of an apparatus which I have devised for thecarrying out of the same, and the protection whichl contemplate will appearfrom the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which Ihave shown a preferred form ofapparatus, Figure 1 is an elevation, with parts broken away showing asystem such as I have in mind; Fig.2 is a-rertical sectional viewthrough the absorption chamber, and Fig. 3 is 'ayiewon the line 33 ofFig. 2.

Referring to the numerals on the drawings there 'is' shown at 4 areservoir adapted to contain a store of the solution of potassiumhydrate or other chemical, and 5 indicates another reservoircommunicating at its bottom by way of the pipe 6 with the bottom of thereservoir 4. The reservoir 5 has an upward circular extension indicatedby the numeral 7, and a circular tank 8 is mounted within this extension7 upon brackets 9, the walls of thetank 8 being spaced from the walls ofthe extension 7 so as to afford an annular passageway between them. Thebottom of the tank 8 is perforated as indicated by the numeral 10 inFig. 2. At the top of the tank 8 there is an inlet 11 for the ingress ofair, and the pipe 6 is provided with a vertical branch 12, connected,through a valve 14-, with a pipe 15. The pipe 15 has three branches, onecomprising a conduit 16 controlled by a valve 1'7 and leading throughthe top and into the interior of the reservoir 4:. This conduit 16extends to a point adjacent the bottom of the reservoir 4, and its endis preferably screened as indicated at 18. The pipe 15 has anotherbranch 1.9, which communicates with the inlet end of a centrifugal pump20, the latter being driven by a motor 21. The third branch of the pipe15 is indicated at 22, and this pipe 22 is intended to connect with seawater by means of the valved branch 24, or with a supply of ready mixed.solution of potassium hydrate or the like, by means of thevalve-controlled branch From the dis charge end of the pump 20 extends aconduit 26, which has a valve-controlled branch 27 leading to a place ofdischarge, and another valve-controlled branch 28 communieating with thetop of the tank '8. The

branch 28 within the tank 8 coinnninicates with a tubular ring 29, whichhas a plurality oi inwardly directed discharge spouts 30. Immediatelybelow the air inlet 11 there is a conical deflector 31, any horizontalsection 01 which is preferably circulaiz' This conical deflector issuspended from the top of the tank 8 by means of bolts 32, and aplurality of vanes 34 is held in radial relation to the conicaldeflector 31, between the base 35 thereof and the top of the tank 8. Itwill be evident that air drawn in through the inlet 11 will be directedagainst the side walls of the tank 8, by reason of the presence of theconical deflector 31 and of the several vanes 34. At the same time,assuming that the chemical solution is being discharged through the pipe28 and tubular ring 29, this solution will be driven inwardly, and therewill be a fairly intimate contact between the oppositely moving streamsof air and solution. It is intended that the air directed against thesides of the tank shall be given a downward direction, and to that end Iprovide an annular deflector 36 which directs the air down wardly andtoward the center of the tank. Below the distributing ring29 and thedeflector cone 31 the tank is occupied by a nest of superposed plates ordisks 37 of peculiar characteristics and relations. uppermost one ofthese disks extends entirely across the tank, making a tight joint withthe side walls thereof, and it is arevided centrally with an aperturedefined by an upwardly extending flange 38. Below this disk 37 there isanother disk 39, the outer edges of which are spaced from the side wallof the tank, and this disk 39 is provided with an upwardly extendingflange 40, defining a center aperture smaller than that of the disk 37;and since this disk, as well as all the other disks in the nest, areconcentric, it follows that the flange 40 will be closer to the commoncenter than is the flange 38. It will be understood that the outer edgeof the disk 39 is not flanged at all. Below the disk 39 again is a disk41 which has its outer edge upwardly flanged and somewhat closer to theside walls of the tank 8 than is the outer edge of the disk 39. Thisdisk 41 is also provided with a central opening, smaller than thatdefined by the flange 40 of the disk 39, but the central aperture of thedisk 41 is not flanged. Below the disk 41 there is another disk 42,which has no opening at all, and which has its outer edge flanged andspaced farther away -lr om the side walls of the tank 8 than is theouter edge of the disk 41. Below the disk 42 there is a disk 44 havingits outer edge flanged and slightly spaced away from the side walls ofthe tank 8 and having a large central aperture, which is howeverunflanged. Below the disk 44 is The a disk 45 having its outeredgespaced farther away from the side walls of the tank 3 than is the outeredge of the disk 44, this outer edge being unflanged, and the diskhaving a central opening somewhat smaller than the opening of the disk44 defined by an upwardly extending flange 46. Below the disk 45 isanother disk 47 similar in all respects to the disk 37. Below the disk47 is another series of disks similar in all respects to the disks 39,41, 42, 44 and 45, respectively. All of these several disks are heldvertically spaced apart and are secured in assembled relation as bymeans oi -bolts 48 extending through them, each bolt being secured toeach oi? the disks through which it passes. It is believed that theoperation of the device may now be understood.

Assuming that the reservoirs 4 and 5 are properly supplied with asolution of potassium hydrate or other chemical, the valve 14 is closed,the valve 17 opened, the valves 24 and 25 are closed, the valve 27 isclosed and the valve 28 opened, whereupon the motor 21 is started,setting the pump 20 in operation. 4 and 5 is thereupon drawn up throughthe pipes 16 and 19, through the pump, and from the pipe 26 into the topof the tank 8, and by way oi the distributing ring 29 and spouts 30against the inner sides of the tank. The movement of the solution or theoperation of a fan, causes an indraft of air through the opening 11, andas this air enters the top of the tank it is deflected by means of thedeflectors 31 and 36 in a manner already described. The solution drops,most of it on tothe disk 37, and some of it onto the disks 39, 41 and42, but whichever disk a particular quantity of solution happens to fallupon, it must, in its further downward travel, pass over every disk below that on which it first strikes, as would be obvious from aninspection of the ar rangement and flanging of the several disks, untilit finally flows over the outer edges of the lowermost disk in the tankand thence out through the perforated bottom 10, from which it dropsdown again into the reservoir 5. In Fig. 2 I have indicated the path oftravel of solution by means of dotted lines. The air drawn or forcedinto the tank and deflected by means of the deflectors 31 and 36 movestoward the center of the tank and downwardly and may pass between disks37, 39, 41 and 42. lVhichever of these routes the air takes it reachesthe side walls of the tank and must then move in again toward the centerby means of the spaces between disks 42, 44, 45 and 47. From the centeragain the air proceeds to the side walls of the tank by means of thepassages between the disk 47 and the next three disks below it, and fromthe side walls of the tank again back to the center The solution fromthe reservoirs carbon dioxid and other impurities. If desired, there maybe a valve 50 in the pipe 6 so as to cut off the reservoir 4. In thatevent, the reservoir 4 may be held as a reservoir and the supply ofsolution for the circulating system drawn directly from the reservoir 5by means of the pipes 6, 12 and 15, the valve 14 being, of course,opened and the valve 17 closed. The level of solu-. tion in thereservoirs it and 5 is indicated by Ordinary gage glasses 51.

When the solution in the connected reservoirs 4 and 5 has beencirculated to such an extent that its usefulness isdestroyed, it may bedischarged from the system by way of the valved pipe 27. For thatpurpose the valve 28 will be closed, the valves 24 and 25 closed, andeither or both the valves 14. and 17 opened. If it is desired, aftersuch discharge,.to take in fresh water for rinsing over the trays in thetank 8, this may be accomplished as follows: close the valve 25, openthe valve 24, close the valves 14: and 17, close the valve 27 and openthe valve 28. And if it is desired to take into the system fresh readyprepared solution, by way of the valved branch .25, this may beaccomplished by opening the valve 25, closing the valve 24, closing thevalves 14 and 17 and 27, and opening the valve 28, whereupon the freshsupply will be pumped into the top of the tray tank 8, whence it willfind its way to-the reservoirs 4L and It will be obvious that by meansof the apparatus described both the solution and the air are circulatedthrough the apparatus and brought into intimate and repeated contact,whereby an exchange is effected, the air giving up certain of itsimpurities, as aforesaid, to the solution. One of the es sentialfeatures of the invention, therefore, is the continued circulation ofthe solution; another feature is to induce simultaneous circulation ofair and the bringing of the air into contact with the solution whilethey are both so cirpulating, and another feature is in the tortuouspath which is given to the circulating air and solution within the exchange or absorption tank, in causing the air and the solution to passrepeatedly from the center to the outer walls and back to the centeragain of the tank, in causing the solution to pass over everyone of thehorizontal trays in succession, and in causing the air to pass over thesolution on each tray and also through the drip that falls from tray totray. It is to be understood that instead of depending upon thecirculation of the solution alone to cause the indraft of air, I maypositively draw the air into the exchange or absorption tank by means ofa fan or the like; at any rate, I prefer that the movement of the airinto the tank shall be positive. It will be understood also that the airto be purified is preferably led into the tank through a pipe 11, andthis pipe should be of such length that its inlet end may be located atsome point remote from the tank 8, in order to accomplish the bestcirculation. Furthermore, this pipe 11 may be flexible, so that itsinlet end may be moved about from place to place, so as to draw in airfrom places where it might otherwise be pocketed and stagnant.

It is to be understood that there may be variations in the method whichI have described, and that in respect of the apparatus disclosedmaterials, sizes, and relations of parts are unimportant, except as setforth in the claims. It is also to be understood that I do not limitmyself to the purification of air, since the apparatus might, withproper changes, be employed for removing from any gas or gaseouscompound the undesirable matters carried thereby or therewith.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for the purpose described comprisinga solutionreservoir, an exchange tank supported within and in spaced relation tothe side wall of the reservoir, said exchange tank having an inletopening in its top and an outlet opening in its bottom, both openingscommunicating with the atmosphere, and means for inducing a circulationof solution from the reservoir through the tank and back into thereservoir.

2. An apparatus of the kind described comprising a solution tank havingan upward extension, an exchange tank supported in the upward extensionand having its walls spaced from the side walls of the ex tension, thebottom of the exchange tank being perforated so as to communicate withthe reservoir and with the space between the exchange tank and the wallsof the extension, said tank having an air inlet at its top, means forforcing solution from the reservoir into the top of the tank, and meanswithin the tank for causing the solution and air drawn into the top ofthe tank to pass repeatedly from the center to the outside walls of thetank and toward the bottom thereof.

3. An apparatus of the class described, comprising a fluid reservoir, anexchange tank arranged within the top and spaced from the wall thereof,a circulating means for forcing the fluid into the top of said exchangetank, an air inlet also in the top of said exchange tank, and meanswithin the tank to direct the incoming air against the incoming fluid tocause the two to contact,

and bathing plates arranged below said means, thereby giving thecontacting circulating fluid and air a tortuous path during part oftheir circulation, an outlet in the bottom of said exchange tank toallow the fluid to return to the reservoir and the air escape throughthe space between the walls of the reservoir and the exchange tank.

4. An apparatus for the purpose described comprising a solutionreservoir, an

exchange tank having an opening in its top and an outlet opening in itsbottom, both openings communicating with the atmosphere, a perforateddistributing ring arranged within the exchange tank around the topopening and means for causing a circulation of solution from thereservoir to the distributing ring and through the exchange tank.

5. An apparatus for the purpose described comprising a solutionreservoir, an exchange tank having a centrally arranged inlet opening inits top and an outlet opening in its bottom, both openings communicatingwith the atmosphere, means adjacent said top opening to laterallydeflect the incoming air, a perforated distributing ring incommunication with the reservoir arranged around the inlet opening todirect a spray of solution against the incoming air and means forcausing a circulation of solution from the reservoir to the distributingring and through the tank.

6. An apparatus for the purpose described comprising a solutionreservoir, an exchange tank having a centrally arranged inlet opening inits top and an outlet openmg in itsbottom, both openings communicatingw1th the-atmosphere, means ad]acent said top opening to laterallydeflect the incoming air, a perforated distributing ring incommunication with the reservoir arranged around the inlet opening todirect a spray of solution against the incoming air, a series of bafliesarranged below the deflector to cause the air to take a tortuous passagethrough the tank and means "for and bottom, both openings communicatingwith the atmosphere, and means for inducing a circulation of solutionfrom the reservoir through the tank and back to said reservoir. V

S. An apparatus for the purpose described, comprising a solutionreservoir, an exchange tank supported above the reservoir and providedwith an opening in its top and bottom, both openings communicating withthe atmosphere, and means for inducing a circulation of solution fromthe reservoir through the tank and back to the reservoir.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALFRED E. DAVIDSON.

l/Vitnesses MARY H. LEWIS, H. VERONICA FITZPATRICK.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

